regularly scheduled debits from
a checking account into a savings account or
other investment.

Some folks pay most or
all of their bills electronically using computer software for personal
finances. Even a simple phone call can get
some bills put on a credit card and paid electronically.

However, in order to
pay bills electronically or pay for items by debit card from a checking
account,
there has to be enough
money in the account to pay for them.

That's where things
can get tricky. If there's not enough in the account, a driver may feel
justified in taking money against a future paycheck -- or putting
things on credit.

Some folks may say that getting a cash advance is just
like getting cash from an ATM
and that the only difference is timing.

A payday advance comes out of
your anticipated paycheck while a cash withdrawal comes out of what's
already been deposited into your account.

That's a fair comparison.

Personal Spending Versus Business Spending

For
purposes of clarification, we're specifically zeroing in on
cash advances for personal
expenses, not business expenses.

But let's look at
business expenses for just a bit.

Some trucking
companies have a system whereby P.O. (purchase order)
numbers are issued for expenses like lumper fees and truck
washes.

Or they may provide authorization for Comchecks to be
written.

We recall the time when we drove for Swift when we had a
delivery in
the northeastern USA where the lumper fee was in the $300 range -- in
cash.

Of course, being so fresh out of truck
driver training school, we
didn't have that kind of cash on us, so we had to drive quite a
distance to a truck
stop, get a Comcheck cashed and then drive all the way back
just
to get the trailer unloaded.

Note: setting up and maintaining a "truck
fund" -- which is separate from a personal emergency
fund -- can help you pay for things like cash-only lumper
fees or non-electronic tolls.

Anytime you pay cash for any expense,
you should get a receipt -- particularly if you are submitting the
receipt for reimbursement.

But pressing on...

Where Are
You Spending Your Cash Advances?

As we mention on our budgeting
page, it's a really good idea if you keep a spending diary to keep
track of all of your expenses.

Good questions to ask and answer include:

How much money do you spend?

What do you spend
your money on?

What were you feeling when you
wanted to spend?

Answering these questions may help you learn your
spending weaknesses.

For example, perhaps
you spend your cash advances on entertainment
or clothing or
chrome for your truck.

If you can identify the trend, that's half the
battle.

Cash Versus Credit or Debit

Another
aspect to this subject is why you need to have a
cash advance at all. Why not use a debit or credit card instead?

We
were in a grocery store not long ago behind a lady who was paying for
her purchases by check. Mike wondered aloud to Vicki about that after
we left the store.

Vicki said that we can't judge the lady's situation: perhaps
she had
run into trouble with credit card abuse in the past and felt it was
better to limit herself to spending only what was in her checking
account.

Or maybe she didn't have a debit card.

Or maybe she couldn't get credit.

Or maybe she didn't
want to
have her spending tracked by a bank or credit card company.

Who knows?

Still, knowing why you use a certain type of payment for your
purchases
is good, too.

Some futurists predict a time when certain national
economies are going to collapse.

When that happens, they say, one of
the first things to get shut down will be the credit card industry and
all electronic transactions.

We don't buy into ultra doom-and-gloom
scenarios, but we do believe in being prepared.

If you have come to
depend on getting cash advances, will you have what you need to tide
you over in a bind should an event like this actually occur?

I've Got Cash! (When Can I Spend It?)

For
some folks,
having money (particularly large
sums of money) in one's wallet is practically irresistible.

An
idiom that UsingEnglish.com describes goes this way: "If
someone
has money burning a hole
in their pocket, they are eager to spend it,
normally in a wasteful manner." (emphasis added)

You may have seen articles online answering the question
as to whether or not people spend more money when using credit cards
than
when using cash.

One article
said the study doesn't
exist, the author of another article put the theory to test
himself, and a third provided
this quote:

"Credit cards effectively anesthetize the pain of
paying," said George Loewenstein, Carnegie Mellon professor of social
and decision sciences (SDS) and co-author of the paper. "You swipe the
card and it doesn't feel like you're giving anything up to make the
purchase, unlike paying cash where you have to hand over bills."

OK, so cash advances may be what keeps some people from
racking up a
huge balance on their credit
card statement.

In other words, with cash but no
credit, you can't spend what
you don't have.

It works sort of on the same basis as a prepaid cell
phone like TracFone.
Once the minutes or airtime -- or in our case on this page, the cash --
runs out, that's it!

Purposefully limiting your cash expenditures can be a
very good thing, especially for those who have a tendency to overspend.

Family Money Problems

If you're married, do yourself a favor by
discussing
the issue of taking cash advances with your spouse ahead of time. This
is especially
important if your spouse is back home paying the household bills from
your paycheck alone.

The person at home doesn't need the added stress
of trying to pay bills from an inadequate deposit while you may be
living "footloose and fancy free" or "high on the hog" on the road.

"Larry Burkett once told me that of all the couples
who divorce in America, between 85 and 90 percent would say the number
one problem in their marriage is money. They are unable to agree on how
to handle it, save it, spend it, give it, budget it, account for it and
keep from arguing about it. In many cases, it's the heavy debt and the
pressure of watching it compound ever higher - with no easy
solution for bringing it down - that causes a marriage to fall apart."

Mike speaks from personal experience of having been
raised in a broken home. He says that if you think the issue of
communicating with your spouse about money is not important, consider
the high cost of a divorce, especially if children are involved.

For balance, some folks like the
freedom of having what Vicki's mom calls "mad money," to spend on
whatever is desired without having to give an account for it. As long
as both
spouses agree, this can be a very freeing thing.

Keep your home
support team "in the loop" regarding expenses. We
urge couples to discuss their financial habits and
goals
regularly.

Cash Advances and Discipline

As
with any aspect of financial management, cash advances must be
monitored, too.

For
example, if you took $100 against your upcoming
weekly paycheck in order to cover certain meals during the week --
let's say 8 meals for no more than $12.50 each (meal, tax and tip) --
but you spend $20 each on 5 meals, you'll be 3 meals short!

How would
you like not being able to eat for an entire day -- or eat something
other
than what you want?

It's something to consider seriously if you choose
not to discipline yourself with the cash advance you have!

Splurging
can be fun but it can bring negative consequences, too. We've put it in
image form here: Need this much (large column), Have this much
(small column), OUCH!

We know that in trucking, there's no way to plan ahead
for absolutely everything, but you can set up protections for yourself
as much as possible.

It is no fun to be stranded away from home without
enough cash to even get back home!

Resources that Help

We can wholeheartedly recommend the following resources from the late Larry Burkett, links of which are from Amazon.com, with which we have an affiliate relationship:

Money saving tip:
Remember that whenever you take a cash advance, you are removing money
from your upcoming paycheck. It is not "free" money.

If you're used to
having a certain amount of income and it has been reduced by the amount
you took in one or more cash advances, you may be caught short when you
need to pay for something.

Be cautious about splurging or making impulse
purchases. Evaluate the difference between your needs and your wants.

If you limit your wants, you may find that you look forward to
them
more than if you got wants more often.

Learn to distinguish and separate business and
personal expenses. Set up a truck fund to pay for business expenses and
an emergency fund to pay for your own emergencies.

Plan ahead. Save some money from a current
paycheck to pay for things you may need later. Set goals for yourself.

Refrain from using cash advances for the purpose
of saving. Set up a separate account for savings.

If you are the kind
of person who is tempted by a growing savings account, put it in a
hard-to-access place so that the temptation to tap it is reduced.

Don't forget to document every cash advance so
that you won't be surprised when you get your check or see your pay
stub.

In fact, to
make sure that every amount is accounted for, you may wish to vary the
amounts of cash advances, such as $40 this time, $50 next time, etc.

If
you track your expenses on a computer, be sure to note every draw
you've taken. Do not allow
yourself to forget to make the entry or enter the amount more
than once.